What does doctoral supervision actually look like in contemporary academia? In this NBN episode, Fredrik Saxegaard discusses the open-access book Doctoral Supervision Across Boundaries: Interdisciplinarity as Process and Practice (Scandinavian UP, 2026), co-edited with Mia Lövheim, and Geir Afdal. The conversation challenges the traditional image of supervision as a private relationship between a supervisor and a PhD candidate. Instead, the book argues that supervision today is distributed across networks, institutions, peers, reviewers, research schools, and academic cultures. We discuss: Why interdisciplinarity complicates doctoral identity formation, How Accountability Pressures Reshape Supervision, The hidden curricula of doctoral education, Writing and evaluation across disciplinary boundaries Drawing on experiences from the Scandinavian RVS research school, the book offers a critical rethinking of supervision as a relational, collective, and institutionally embedded practice. This episode will be particularly relevant to supervisors, doctoral candidates, academic developers, and anyone interested in the future of higher education. Amisah Bakuri (PhD) is an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. Her work explores the intersections of religion, sexuality, gender, and migration, especially within African diasporic communities in the Netherlands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.